When Is the Right Time to Hang Up the Car Keys?

Helen Keller, the disability rights advocate who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months of age, famously warned of “having sight but no vision”. Hers was a metaphor on living. But what happens to our eyesight as we age? And how common is it to have sight, but poor vision? More specifically, how do we know when we need to make changes in our lives because we are not seeing as well as we used to? Driving, for example, is an intensive visual undertaking. But glare sensitivity and reductions in visual field are significant predictors of involvement in a crash. No amount of wisdom will help in the seconds before an accident you did not see coming.